Argus Omnimotus, a fully autonomous agricultural robot, have earned the Maroon Robotics Team first place and best design report in the Advance Division of the 2026 ASABE Student Robotics Challenge.

The robot navigates a simulated corn field without human intervention, identifies different planting scenarios using AI-powered computer vision, harvests mature plants by toppling designated targets, replants empty locations by dispensing seeds, and reports stand counts at the end of each run. The system integrates a custom four-wheel swerve drivetrain, NVIDIA Jetson AGX Orin onboard computing, advanced perception algorithms, and a hybrid manipulation arm for both harvesting and reseeding tasks.

The robot was developed entirely by Mississippi State University students, including two undergraduate students who were mentored by faculty (Dr. Dong Chen, Assistant Professor, Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, and Dr. J. Alex Thomasson, Director of the Agricultural Autonomy Institute) and graduate students (Moeen Ul Islam, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, and Bishal Adhikari, Agricultural and Biological Engineering).

The undergraduate students Kori Edwards (Agricultural and Biological Engineering) and Lorien Harvey (Agricultural and Biological Engineering) assisted with robot assembly, data collection, AI model training, competition area construction, and system testing and validation.

Dr. Dong Chen, commenting on the team's success, says: "This achievement reflects the dedication, creativity, and teamwork of our students. They designed, built, tested, and refined the robot over many months, often overcoming significant technical challenges. Winning first place validates their hard work and demonstrates the tremendous potential of Mississippi State students in agricultural robotics and autonomous systems."

On the future of the Maroon Robotics Team, Dr. Chen says it plans to "recruit and mentor new students, advance our robotic technologies for real-world agricultural applications, and continue competing in national and international robotics competitions."